OMAHA — Registered nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn held a roundtable with small business owners Tuesday morning. 

Osborn is currently in a heated Senate race against Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts.

The closed roundtable at Pageturners Lounge was with a handful of business owners who said inflation was the common theme hurting their businesses, as it increases their input costs and leads to less business because consumers have less money to spend. 

The roundtable discussion was closed to the media because the Osborn campaign wanted the business owners to feel comfortable speaking. The campaign later shared details of the conversation. Before the closed roundtable, the business owners spoke to the press. 

Phil Schaffart, the owner of Pageturners Lounge, said small businesses are the “backbone of America.” Schaffart added that he wants policies that help small businesses like his maintain operations instead of worrying about how they are going to pay the bills. 

Devin Munn, an owner of a bar in downtown Omaha, said one of the big issues for small businesses in the city is “that LGBT and Hispanic communities are scared to be out in public.” 

“That’s actually killing our business right now,” Munn said. 

Before the roundtable, Osborn said he has done 70 town halls since he started his 2026 campaign. He said the top concern is rising costs caused by the Iran war. He also mentioned that farmers are seeing rising costs of fertilizer and other inputs. Osborn said he believes his messaging of  “breaking up monopoly power” is resonating with voters. 

“I believe in a free market. I believe in capitalism, but it has to be checked,” Osborn said. “The fact that we have to break up industries that have consolidated, where a few controlled all of it…that’s not a true free market.”

Ricketts was asked about the war in Iran and the rising costs it has caused during his Monday tele-town hall. He said, “The crux of what we’re trying to accomplish is to get Iran to give up making a nuclear bomb.”

When asked about dealing with GOP trackers – people who are paid or volunteer to gather opposition research on him – this cycle, Osborn said: “It’s a crazy, crazy game.”

“It really wasn’t until I ran for office that I started to see politics for what it is. It’s corrupt,” Osborn told the Examiner. “It’s frustrating…and it’s designed to be frustrating.”

In 2024, Osborn wasn’t taken seriously by U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb, until the last few months of the race after he built a populist brand by barnstorming the state. National and Nebraska Republicans have focused on not letting him fly under the radar this cycle. 

Republicans have accused Osborn of being a “fake independent,” pointing to the support he has received from state Democrats. Osborn said he wanted to hold a roundtable because he is always looking for ways to “stand up for the little guy.”

Osborn has until Aug. 3 to gather enough signatures to get on the November ballot. The general election is Nov 3.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/